South Africa Edition 2

come up with a solution to an industry problem,
the men approached Seatrain, a Hawaiian-based
shipping company, with a proposal that would
save both the company and its customers’ time
and money.
Traditionally, shipping papers - called the
“manifest”, which list the goods carried in the
ship’s cargo - had travelled with the ship itself.
It was taken for granted that time would be lost
as the manifests were checked and cleared by
customs services at their destination. Dalsey
and Hillblom came up with the idea of flying the
manifests to the destination customs offices, so
that they would arrive before the ship did. Papers
could then be processed before the cargo arrived.
It was a stroke of genius - simple but clever - and
cut out a lot of wasted time.
Back then, Hillblom travelled with the papers
himself, practically living on airplanes for the
first eighteen months of DHL’s existence.
In its 29-year local history, DHL has become
the number one courier service between all global
destinations and South Africa. Here, as in the
rest of the world, the brand is able to maintain its
leadership by what it calls the “service attitude”
of all it’s employees. As “the most important
factor in our business”, the client’s success is
DHL’s success.
In 1998, Deutsche Post began to acquire
shares in DHL and finally reached majority
ownership in 2001. The purchase was completed
in 2002.
THE PRODUCT
The DHL brand consists of five strong service
fields: DHL Express, DHL Global forwarding,
DHL Exel Supply Chain, DHL Freight and DHL
Global Mail.
DHL Express is globally present with sameday,
overnight and classic parcel services. Its
network includes fully automated trans-shipment
centres, a high performance IT infrastructure,
4,000 subsidiaries and links to 120,000
destinations worldwide.
DHL’s services are many and varied, but all
are designed to get things where they need to go,
efficiently and effectively. Products include:
• Express deliveries
• Road and rail freight
• Air and ocean freight
• Logistics
• Shipping tools
• Mail services
DHL’s dedicated air network enables it to offer
flexibility on cut-off times, as well as increased
routing options. Dedicated facilities ensure the
secure handling of goods and DHL’s clearance
and customs expertise saves time when goods
are landed.
Independently audited and internationally
recognised ISO 9002 certification assures clients
of the best quality service. The DHL airside
facility at OR Tambo International airport also
has reassuring “A” TAPA (Technology Asset
Protection Association) certification.
DHL Net, the proprietary and dedicated
communications infrastructure linking all DHL
facilities, offers fast and reliable communications
between DHL staff and customers, facilitating
access to shipment information.
The DHL brand has built its reputation on
customer solutions, with product and service
innovation central to its continued success.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In March 2006, DHL Express concluded an
empowerment transaction with a consortium led
by Royal Bafokeng Holdings (Pty) Limited (RBF),
which saw the consortium acquiring a 25.01
percent stake in DHL Express South Africa.
Building on DHL’s uniform visual presence,
the company is intensifying its content direction
to turn the brand into a global brand. The new
DHL brand positioning pulls together the
common values of a globally active provider
integrating around 285,000 people from different
cultures, with different traditions, languages and
religions. DHL’s employees are at the hub of the
organisation as active ambassadors of the brand.
At the start of the 2006 season, DHL
strengthened its logistics partnership with
Formula One racing. The amalgamation with
Exel meant that DHL was able to offer an
enhanced portfolio for teams, management and
sponsors. This included ocean transport of the
racing cars, engines, tyres, replacement parts and
TV equipment for the most popular racing series
in the world. Furthermore, DHL transported
more than one million litres of petrol for the 18
races which took place on four continents.
Traditionally, DHL has used its logistics
knowledge to support aid campaigns after
natural disasters, such as the South Asia tsunami
or Hurricane Katrina. Based on these valuable
experiences, in 2006 the company set up two
DHL Disaster Response Teams (DRTs) in
Singapore and Florida. They are available to the
UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) and support this international
community with relief efforts.
Continued support of both social and economic
growth through sports and community-based
initiatives has allowed DHL to play a pivotal and
sustained role in socio-economic development.
PROMOTION
In a massive re-branding campaign in 2005, DHL
turned yellow. 17,000 trucks, 20,000 worker
uniforms, 467 service centres, 16,000 drop boxes
and more than 275 million pieces of paper got the
vibrant DHL yellow treatment coupled with the
unmistakeable red logo.
The exercise cost some R280 million: backed
by a successful R770 million marketing campaign,
it created such impact that few remember DHL’s
previous colours.
DHL global marketing leads with the message,
“We Race. You Win”, linked to DHL’s corporate
sponsorship of Formula 1 racing.
DHL’s comprehensive website allows clients
to conduct business from anywhere in the world
and track their shipments.
BRAND VALUES
The DHL brand was built on a can-do spirit,
backed by solid know-how. DHL’s Seven Corporate
Values challenge and guide its staff and becoming
stronger than its competitors is its “obligation to
shareholders”. The brand’s culture “unites the
excellence of individual subsidiaries and their
unique company cultures to produce a shared
strength”.
An active, open corporate culture makes DHL
a responsible global corporate citizen and an
attractive employer for highly talented people.
Brand values are:
• To deliver excellent service
• To make our customers successful
• To foster openness
• To act according to clear priorities
• To act in an entrepreneurial way
• To act with integrity internally and externally
• To accept social responsibilities
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
DHL
In 1982, DHL became the first air express
company to formulate plans for state-ofthe-art
packet switching to track packages
and aid communications between staff
DHL launched the world’s first global
SMS tracking service to allow customers
to track DHL shipments via text messages
wherever a mobile phone can be used
xx
SBV2 DHL FA_RFP.indd 3
10/11/07 1:36:44 PM